The Years Gone
by NatalieJ64
Summary: Then as it was, then again it will be, and though the course may change sometimes: rivers always reach the sea. Based on the Led Zeppelin song, "Ten Years Gone". Jackie and Hyde go baby-sitting. POST SEASON 8 Updated!
1. Prologue: The Set Up

**Disclaimer**: I do not own That 70s Show: if I did, Season 8 would be a hellll of a lot different ;)

**Author's Note**: Ok, so this is just the Prologue so far. I just want some feedback and reviews to see if people like the direction the story is going in and then I'll have another chapter up soon :) This is my first fanfic, so let me know how you like it. xoxo Natalie

_Prologue: The Set-Up_

--

"Come on, Jackie! Pleeeaseee?"

"No," Jackie answered, crossing her arms over her chest. "I hate kids! Remember mini-Jackie? And I hate _him_," she said, flicking her hands outward in disgust.

"No, but you love Betsey! And Brooke has a librarian conference and I can't pass up the opportunity to sleep with hot librarians!" Kelso insisted.

"Michael, you're such a pig!" Jackie said, slapping him on his shoulder.

"What?!" he asked innocently, shrugging. "I can't help it."

"But why do _I_ have to babysit her? Why can't Steven just do it by himself?"

"Because you guys are both Betsey's godparents and Brooke doesn't want you to babysit Betsey by yourself and she doesn't want Hyde alone with our baby."

"I'll pay for a babysitter!" Jackie said desperately. She did not want to waste a perfectly good weekend with Steven and Kelso's adorable-but-messy daughter.

"Fine, we'll just ask Eric and Donna since you and Hyde obviously can't work things out long enough to take care of Betsey!"

"Ugh, fine!" Jackie relented: "I'll do it, you're just lucky I love my goddaughter and that there's a sale at the Children's Place!" she yelled, slamming the door.

--

"So, Hyde, I hear got stuck babysitting with Jackie," Eric said, looking at his friend.

Hyde let out an irritated "Mhm" while keeping his eyes glues on the television in Forman's new apartment.

"So, that should be..." Eric started thoughtfully, "fun," he finished sarcastically, looking over at Hyde who had his arms crossed, sunglasses on. "Spending the night with your ex-girlfriend and Kelso's illegitimate child."

"You know, ever since you came back and Donna went off to college, you've just been irritating the crap out of me, Forman. What did Africa do to you?"

"Hey, don't make this about Donna and me. We're..fine, ok? You and Jackie on the other hand...Well, she's sleeping with Fez."

"She's NOT sleeping with Fez," Hyde said defensively, shuddering at the thought. "That's sick."

"Uh-oh," Eric said in a singsong voice, "Looks like somebody's jeal-ooo-us."

"I am not," Hyde denied, getting off his chair and angrily putting away the potato chips he had been eating. "Later Forman," Hyde said, exiting.

"Going to confess your love to Jackie?" Forman teased.

"Man, shut up," Hyde said, slamming the door.


	2. Have It Your Way

**Author's Note:** A big thanks to my five reviewers :) lol, but seriously—please review! The number of views and reviews don't exactly correspond, so let me know what you think about this chapter. I'm a little unsure about it, but it's just a little segway into the main plot. The story will pick up the next chapter, I promise. xoxo

_Have It Your Way_

--

"Okay, so there's phone numbers next to the telephone--don't forget to call if there's any problems--and then we have baby food in the fridge, Betsey's bath supplies are in the top bathroom drawer, make sure you test the water temperature before putting her in the bath, clean towels are in the closet, her favorite toys are in the bucket in the living room--be sure to sanitize them after, with this," Brooke paused for a breath and pulled out a bottle of Windex, before putting it in the cabinet. "Don't forget to put it away after, you don't want Betsey to get her hands on it."

"Well, damn, Brooke, even I can take care of Betsey without anything bad happening," Michael said, coming up behind Brooke and giving Betsey a kiss on the nose. "Jackie and Hyde will be fine."

"Thank you, Michael," Jackie said, nodding and smiling. "And it would be great if Steven actually showed up, but once again, I'm just waiting on him," she added bitterly. "Not that I'm not happy now with Fez," she quickly covered.

"Do you think we should wait until he gets here?" Brooke asked, "We don't want to be late and it's a long drive to Milwaukee."

"Yeah, you guys go ahead, I'll just wait here for Steven to show up," Jackie said generously. "And don't worry, Betsey will be fine. Won't you Bets?" Jackie cooed, gently taking her two-year old goddaughter out of Brooke's arms.

"Okay, bye-bye Betsey baby, be good for Uncle Hyde and Aunt Jackie, alright?" Brooke said, taking both of Betsey's hands in her own. Brooke gave her daughter a quick kiss and grabbed her bags off of the kitchen floor and waited for Kelso at the door.

"Bye Bets, we'll be back soon," Michael assured, brushing her wispy brunette hair out of her eyes. And with that, Michael grabbed the rest of their things and left.

"Looks like it's just you and me, Bets," Jackie said, gently rocking the toddler.

--

It was one o'clock and still no Steven. And Jackie was pissed. She had to take care of a fussy, hungry two-year old for four hours already and he hadn't called Brooke's apartment or talked to Donna or Eric today. Ugh! She was gonna kill him if he ever showed up. He was so irresponsible! "I think it's time for a nap, Betsey," Jackie decided. Her goddaughter had already been fed an hour ago and had been relatively quiet after the initial fussiness of being separated from her parents. "I think Aunt Jackie needs a nap, too," Jackie sighed, after placing Betsey--who was dressed in an adorable, purple Children's Place jumper, courtesy of her fabulous godmother--in her crib. Settling in a comfortable chair next to the crib, Jackie dozed off.

--

Hyde was in so much trouble, and he knew it: Jackie was probably going to kill him. That was, if Brooke didn't kill him when she found out he showed up five hours to his babysitting gig. He decided his best attack was to just go in quietly and maybe if Betsey was asleep, Jackie wouldn't yell too loud. Hyde brought over some coffee and donuts from the gas station along the way and he hoped that would help negate some of Jackie's fury towards him. Turning the doorknob, he felt like he was walking into a frickin' war zone. Tiptoeing, Hyde entered Brooke's apartment.

--

Nothing. No Jackie. No Betsey. No yelling, no hitting. What the hell? Hyde wandered around the room until he found them. Jackie was nestled in a chair next to a crib that held their sleeping goddaughter. Hyde always thought Jackie was cutest when she slept, because she wasn't talking, and now, curled snugly in the fetal position, he thought she looked pretty damn cute.

"Jackie?" he whispered, gently shaking her awake. "Jackie?"

She woke opened her eyes sleepily, registering someone else was in the room, and jumped up out of the chair. "Holy crap! Steven!" she said, breathing a sigh of relief that it was only Hyde. "Steven!" Jackie repeated, angrier this time. "Finally decided to show up, huh?" she asked, raising her voice.

"Shh, Betsey's asleep," Hyde whispered, gesturing to the crib.

"I don't think so," Jackie whispered back loudly. "Nice try, though," she said sarcastically, grabbing him by the front of his shirt and dragging him out of the room.

"God, don't need to get so grabby," he sniped back.

She slapped him on the arm. "So now you decide to show up!? You were supposed to be here five hours ago!" Jackie yelled.

"Sorry, I was sleeping--"

"With someone?" Jackie asked suspiciously.

"No," he answered, "Just sleeping. Late night." Hyde crossed his arm over his chest. "Why--jealous?"

Jackie scoffed and turned on her heel. "You wish."

"Well, I brought some coffee and donuts," he said, following her into the kitchen. "If you're hungry."

"That's suspiciously considerate of you, Steven," Jackie said, her voice containing just a hint of malice. Hyde smiled inwardly: she would always be the Queen of Back-handed compliments.

"Well, I knew you'd be pissed and I don't think Brooke would appreciate it if we did what we normally do to calm down," he said, pretending to smoke. "So, I bought food." He shrugged, opening the bag.

"Well thank you," Jackie said, smiling softly, grabbing out a coffee from the bag, taking a sip.

"And if you want a little kick," Hyde said, he took out a metal flask and opened it, took a sip, and offered it to her. Her smile faltered, but she quickly recovered, extending her hand, wiggling her fingers for him to hand it over.

Let's see how you do without booze and pot for the weekend, shall we?" Jackie asked, pouring the contents of his flask down the kitchen sink, an evil glint in her eye.

"Jackie--what the hell?" he asked, annoyed.

She laughed, "No, no, no: coffee and donuts aren't going to work--you left me alone with a messy, crying two-year old for FIVE hours. So I'm taking away your hard liquor," she announced happily. Jackie grabbed her cup of coffee and raised it, "Cheers."

He laughed irritably, running his hand over his not-so-clean-shaven face. "Fine," he conceded, "Have it your way."

Hyde was mentally kicking himself for practically walking in to that one. He knew he should have sprung for actual food and never offered her his precious flask. But seriously--a weekend with Jackie? Without beer OR pot? And a crying toddler? Who knows what could happen...


	3. Among Other Things

**Author's Note:** This took me waaaaaay to long to update, and I'm sorry. Seriously. Well hope you enjoy and don' forget to read and review! Oh, and this chapter is dedicated to Ash, Hyde's Bride, because I said I'd have the chapter up by June 14, and here it is: June 15th. Sorry! It's up though and updates should definitely be more frequent :)

_Among Other Things_

--

"Well, I'm not."

"Well, neither am I."

"Oh, you so are!"

"No, why should I have to sleep on the couch?"

"God, have you ever done any gentlemanly act for me in your entire life!?"

Hyde opened his mouth then closed it, smirking.

Jackie looked at him irritably, noticing that familiar look on his face: "Oh, shut up!" Jackie said, hitting him with a dishtowel, knowing that he was very well thinking something very un-gentlemanly by the look on his face.

"Didn't say anything," he said, still smirking, as he headed into the other room where they had set up Betsey's high chair for her dinner.

"Here you go, Bets," Steven said, placing down the small tray and cup. Jackie let out a sigh and followed him in to the other room--Steven had been insufferable since he had arrived and all she wanted was for this weekend to be over.

"Here," Jackie said, placing down his plate of macaroni cheese loudly on the table.

"Thanks," he said, grabbing the remote. "I am not watching the Love Boat," Hyde complained, switching it to something, anything, rather than this.

Jackie grabbed the remote from his hand, "We watch the Love Boat and I open this," Jackie said, returning to the table with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

Hyde was dying, he hadn't been at Brooke's place for very long but the aspect of a sober weekend with Jackie was like an impending doom he couldn't shake off. "Fine," he relented.

Jackie poured them each a glass of wine and settled back in to the couch, beginning to eat her dinner.

--

They ate in an awkward silence and Hyde downed his glass of red wine, pouring another glass. Jackie went to put Betsey asleep in her bedroom and plopped back on to the couch.

"So, how's you and...Fez?" Hyde asked after awhile, saying the last word the same way he said "Abba" or "disco".

"Perfect," Jackie answered quickly, taking a nervous sip of wine. "Fine."

"Mmm," Hyde said, nodding. He reached to pour himself another glass but Jackie grabbed his hand.

"You're not gonna be passing out on me while I have to take care of Betsey...again."

"You were always such a killjoy," Hyde grumbled.

"Actually, if I remember correctly," Jackie began, smiling innocently, "I was able to evoke copious amounts of joy quite frequently."

He raised an eyebrow and let out a small smirk. _Touche. _He then realized that her hand was still on top of his, grabbing the bottle--at the same moment, the phone rang and both he and Jackie quickly let go of the bottle, spilling the red liquid on to the cream-colored couch and on to Hyde's shirt.

"Shit!"

"Quiet, Betsey's sleeping!" Jackie scolded, running to answer the phone. Hyde stood up, forgetting his plate was in his lap and displaced the cheesy mess on to the couch.

"Damn it!"

--

"Hello?" Jackie asked.

"Jackie? It's Brooke."

"Oh. Hi, how's Milwaukee?"

"Good, it's a little stormy but nothing too bad. I was just calling before we go to bed, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," Jackie said automatically.

"Is Hyde there?"

Jackie neglected to hear the last question, as Hyde just took off his shirt, which had a red-wine-stained blotch on it. She bit her lip and let out an appreciative sigh

"Jackie?"

"W-what?"

"Is Hyde there?" Brooke repeated.

"Yeah, yea, he's right there." Oh, _right there. No! No, you have a boyfriend. Not good, Jackie,_ Jackie admonished herself.

"How's Betsey?"

"Good, she's in her room, asleep, and--how did you feel about your couch?" Jackie asked, grimacing at the wine-stained, macaroni and cheese mess that Hyde was trying to mop up with his shirt.

"My couch? What?"

"Uh, never mind, everything's fine, don't worry. I'll call you tomorrow." Jackie hung up the phone and grabbed paper towels, quickly running them under the sink.

--

"Sacrificing your shirt?" Jackie asked, dabbing the couch with the towels.

"Yeah, uh, Sam gave it to me, so I don't really mind."

"Oh."_ Ew._

"Looks like I can't sleep on the couch after all," Hyde said after awhile.

"Well, the floor looks comfortable," Jackie said, putting the used paper towels in the trash.

"Why don't you sleep in that chair in Betsey's room? You looked pretty comfortable before," Hyde said, moving in to the kitchen to wash the dishes.

"No--I'm sleeping in Brooke's room, you're on your own."

--

So, he ended up in the chair next to Betsey's crib. He let out an annoyed sigh, shifting in the chair that didn't accommodate him very comfortably. "Damn it," he muttered, moving his pillow again. He was just about to drift to sleep when...

Jackie let out a loud scream.

Hyde jumped out his chair and ran into Brooke's room.

"Jackie, what the hell?" he asked, seeing Jackie standing in the middle of Brooke's bed.

"There was a rat," she said, flipping hair out her face.

"God, you woke up the entire apartment building for that?" Hyde asked, relieved and annoyed at the same time.

"It was a huge rat!" Jackie justified, "And besides, the friendly neighbors next door aren't getting much sleep either," Jackie said sarcastically. "I'm surprised you were able to sleep through all that humping."

Hyde laughed dryly. "So, you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm—holy crap!" Jackie squealed, seeing the rat again and moving towards the wall. "I cannot stay in here." Jackie jumped off the bed but Hyde stopped her.

"Jackie, just stay here," he said, placing two hands on her shoulder.

"I am not going to stay here and get mauled by rats, Steven!" Jackie snapped back, removing his hands from her shoulders

"Will you quit being so dramatic? It's--" A thought occurred to him. "You know, why don't you go sleep in Betsey's room, I'll stay here." Hyde headed toward the bed, giving Jackie a gentle push towards the door.

"No," Jackie said, catching on to Hyde's train of thought—"Wait! I am not sleeping in Betsey's room," Jackie argued, trying to push Steven out of the way of getting back in to the bed, but Hyde slipped under the covers quickly.

"Steven, get out of the bed. Right. Now!"

"No, what happened to getting mauled by rats? Go sleep in Betsey's room."

"No! Steven!"

"Jackie," he answered back evenly. Hyde looked at Jackie, who was standing before him in a small slip, her hair falling messily over her shoulders. _Damn._ "Fine. Get in," Hyde said, lifting up the covers, his eyes challenging her to get in with him.

"What? I am not sleeping with you," Jackie retorted, rolling her eyes and letting out an annoyed huff.

"Wouldn't be the first time," he responded cheekily. "But I'm not going back to sleep in that friggin' tiny chair."

"God, can't you be chivalrous just once?" Jackie asked rhetorically, pushing him so he would move to opposite end of the bed. "I better not get mauled by rats in my sleep."

"Don't worry," Hyde consoled sarcastically. "I think you're safe."

--

Hyde was woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of thumping in the next door. And pants. And...he shuddered. He did _not_ want to think about what was happening. He turned restlessly over to his side, facing Jackie, who was wide-awake beside him.

"Can't sleep either?"

"Nope," Jackie answered, shifting to face him. "They're too loud. God, give it a rest already," she complained, puffing out her cheeks and letting out an irritated exhale.

Hyde laughed, thinking back fondly of some of their nights together, when they had encountered a similar problem of being too loud.

Jackie let out a small laugh, noticing the same look he had earlier. "Get that smirk off your face, you pig," Jackie said half-heartedly, hitting him with a pillow. Hyde grabbed the pillow and threw it back at her.

"Hey!" Jackie said defensively, reaching to hit him with the pillow again, but he grabbed her wrist. Jackie pretended to pout and Hyde relented, letting go.

"Works every time," Jackie said confidently, glad that Hyde still fell prey to her pout, while Hyde let out a unconvincing "Yeah, right".

"Jackie?" Hyde said, rolling on to his back. She turned to study his profile, trying to gage his expression. She couldn't.

"Yeah?"

He glanced at the clock. "It's 2 o'clock," he stated.

Jackie looked at him strangely, letting out a small laugh, "Are you high or something?" she asked jokingly.

"I wish," Hyde said, and then paused. "Well, it's...today is the 28th."

Jackie thought back—how was that significant? Then she remembered. "Oh," she said softly. It had been a year ago since Jackie had left for Chicago. A year since "Have a nice trip" and all that other crap that ensued afterwards.

"I'm surprised you remember that."

"I remember a lot of things," he answered, shrugging. "Especially memories involving you wearing little to—" Hyde began, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Is that all you ever think about?" Jackie asked, exasperatedly, laughing.

"No," he retorted.

"Oh, I'm sorry, besides Zeppelin, French fries, and el Caminos?"

"Among other things," he said cryptically.

"Whatever," Jackie said, pretending not to care, rolling her eyes. "Goodnight, Steven."

"'Night."

--

The couple next door had stopped, hopefully for the rest of the night, and the room was now too quiet. Jackie could hear Hyde's breathing even and she knew he had probably dozed off already.

_Among other things. What the hell was that supposed to mean? _Jackie thought irritably, turning over. _And why had he brought up the day I left for Chicago? _Jackie stared at the clock aimlessly: 2:17 a.m., 2:18 a.m. January 28, 1980. _One freaking year_. She had thought so much had changed between them, but now—with Steven sleeping next to her and with him running in to her room to see if she was okay—she felt like nothing had. And then she knew, she was in a whole lot of trouble.

Jackie still had feelings for Steven.


	4. At the Earliest

**Author's Note:** Ok, so this took me way, way too long to write. And again, sorry. Things should pick up after this. But I'm kinda unsure on the direction of the story, so let me know what you think, okay? That's partially the reason I took so long to finish this: I didn't know if this would seem...right and in character. But hopefully. **And there is some smut in this chapter, but nothing graphic. Just a heads up--it'll be marked with an "X X X" to let everybody now.** xoxo Natalie

_At the Earliest_

Jackie woke up to the sound of crying. Steven? Jackie laughed a little, opening her blue-green eyes. _No._ Betsey? Probably.

Jackie scolded herself for actually forgetting that her goddaughter was in the next room, but it was easy--when Steven's warm body was resting so precariously next to hers. Jackie looked over at Steven, who was resting peacefully, and turned on the light on the bedside table and grabbed the baby monitor. She hopped out of bed and grabbed one of Steven's flannel shirt strewn atop a chair, wrapping it around her in the chilly January air. Jackie turned off the light and headed in to Betsey's bedroom.

--

"Betsey? Bets, honey, what's wrong?" Jackie asked, picking her crying goddaughter up and rocking her in her arms.

"Mommy?" the toddler asked confusedly.

"She's not here, Betsey. She'll be back soon, it's okay," Jackie hushed.

"Da-da?"

"No, sweetie. Daddy and Mommy will be back soon, just go back to sleep," Jackie said gently, grabbing the small, soft, blanket that she and Hyde has bought upon hearing of their selection as godparents. Jackie had insisted that the blanket be pink while Hyde argued blue was a much more soothing color. Jackie smiled as she wrapped the restless toddler in the blanket and settled in to the comfortable chair in Betsey's room.

"Go to sleep, Betsey," Jackie whispered, kissing Betsey's forehead and brushing a lock of curly brown hair out of her goddaughter's sleepy, big, brown eyes. "Go to sleep, Bets," she repeated, feeling herself drift to sleep again. A pleasant dream drifted through her mind as she lay nestled on the chair.

--

Hyde rolled over, his face resting on Jackie's pillow, which smelled faintly of the fruity shampoo she always used. He woke up and looked around for the petite brunette confusedly.

"Jackie?"

He got out of bed and looked for his flannel shirt, but couldn't find it. _A weekend without booze and I'm already was losing my frickin' mind._ _I'm turning in to Leo_, he thought, shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

He noticed the baby monitor was missing and wandered to Betsey's room where he spied a sleeping Jackie, in his flannel shirt, holding their goddaughter.

Hyde let out an irritated sigh, "Jackie?" he whispered, kneeling next to the chair and gently shaking her knee to try and rouse her. Hyde gently took Betsey out of Jackie's arms and placing her in the crib.

"Jacks, come on, wake up," Hyde encouraged, yawning. He thought of leaving her there but decided against it. Hyde knew she'd be super-pissed in the morning and probably impose some other horrible repercussion. Sleepily, he lifted Jackie out of the chair, who murmured something unintelligibly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

--

_1979 - Point Place Mall_

_"Oh, Steven, isn't this so cute?" Jackie practically squealed, grabbing his hand and pulling him over to a rack of pink baby girl's clothing. _

_"Jackie, pink?" Hyde asked, holding out a tiny dress. "What about blue?"_

_"Blue is a boy's color, and besides--look how cute this is!" _

_"It has unicorns on it," Hyde said, taking the blanket out of her hands. "I don't like it. Let's go for something blue."_

_Jackie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Steven," she said in a whiny tone. "Betsey won't like blue," Jackie assured._

_"I'm sure," Hyde said, wandering around the store, looking around to make sure no one he knew was around. He didn't really wanna be seen in the mall, much less the children's clothing store. "What about this?" he asked, holding up a blanket with a monogrammed "B" on the front. _

_Jackie smiled, "I like it," she decided, standing by his side. "And it's pink," she said happily, glad he had conceded. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and laughed a little, noting his uncomfort in the shop. "You wanna go outside and get something to drink? I know how you don't like to be seen in the mall," she said, gesturing with her hands, mocking him good-naturedly. "I'll go pay for this and meet you outside, okay Puddin' Pop?" _

_"Yea," Hyde said, giving her a quick kiss on the lips. "I'll be outside."_

_Later At Brooke's Apartment_

_"What's this?" Brooke asked, taking the wrapped bag from Jackie's hands, sitting down. _

_"It's from me and Steven," Jackie said, smiling. "We thought Betsey would like it, Steven picked it," Jackie announced proudly, wrapping her arm around his. _

_Brooke opened the bag and pulled out the monogrammed blanket that was tied with a dark blue ribbon. "Oh, Jackie, Betsey will love this!" Brooke said happily, feeling the blanket and the stitched "B" in the center. "Do you guys want to put it in her room, she's asleep now," Brooke asked. _

_"Yeah, we'll go in now."_

_"Hi Betsey," Jackie whispered, leaning over the crib. "It's your godparents," Jackie said, "And we brought you something!" she said excitedly, gently laying the blanket over the sleeping toddler. _

_"It's blue," Steven said, smiling a little, joining his girlfriend at the crib, and playing with the edge of the blanket. "I thought blue was a boy's color," he said, turning her so that her back was pressed against the crib. _

_"It is," Jackie said, taking off his sunglasses, giving him a soft kiss. "But," she said, pulling away slightly, "I knew you liked it, so I bought it. We're both her godparents and it would be unfair if I made all the decisions."_

_He laughed a little, "Yeah, right," he said sarcastically. She hit him on the arm softly. _

_"Hey! I'm trying to be nice," she scolded, giving him another peck on the lips. _

_"I know and I appreciate it," Hyde answered, returning her kiss. _

_"I just want you to be happy," Jackie said, holding his hands. "I'm glad we got back together, I missed you."_

_"I missed you too," Steven whispered, "I missed us, and I missed this--" Hyde said, his lips lightly trailing a path along her neck. "This especially," he said with a smile. _

--

He kept tossing and turning in his bed. He had placed Jackie in the bed and found a small, blue blanket in her hand. Hyde recognized it right away--it was Betsey's, courtesy of her godparents. Blue. He sighed, folded it, placed it on the bedside table by Jackie's bedside table and returned to his side of the bed. Jackie remained asleep while Hyde stared at the ceiling._ That blanket,_ Hyde thought. He absentmindedly tucked of strand behind her ear as she slept.

--

_1979 - Eric Forman's Basement: Hyde's Room_

_Jackie let her breathing return to normal. She felt elated--sweaty, naked, and happy, with her newly reclaimed boyfriend underneath the covers with her. _

_"I'm really, really glad we got back together," Hyde said, tucking a strand of Jackie's hair behind her ear and giving her another kiss._

_"I'm glad we got back together, too, Puddin' Pop," Jackie said, giving him a small nudge, hopping out of bed and rummaging around Steven's room for something to wear. He smiled appreciatively as she looked for something clean to wear. Sometimes he purposely hid his clean clothes just to watch her search for them. _

_"Aha!" Jackie said triumphantly, finding a clean flannel jacket that he hardly ever wore. She buttoned it and it joined Hyde back in bed. _

_"Why do you think Michael chose us over Donna and Eric?"_

_"I dunno, he told us why," Hyde said, feeling immensely tired after their afternoon tryst. _

_"Do you really think we'll last longer than Donna and Eric?" _

_"I think we could, if, you know, we don't get hung-up over stupid stuff like we tend to." _

_"Our hang-ups weren't stupid, and besides, I think we're stronger as a couple now," Jackie insisted. _

_"Well, I guess. We can just break up and get back together again, then we'll be such a strong couple, Eric and Donna won't be able to compare," Hyde said jokingly. _

_Jackie laughed, "Well, we already are better-looking." _

--

Hyde woke up from his brief drift into sleep, facing Jackie, who was ironically, wearing the same jacket that she had donned after they had officially made-up from their second to last break-up. He rolled over, not being able to get the dream out of his mind, or the events that occurred previously.

--

Jackie rolled over irritably.

"Steven?" she asked, annoyed, turning over again.

"What?"

"Can you stop that?"

"Sorry." He shifted his pillow, he was feeling all jittery and it was preventing any restful sleep. And all he could smell was her fruit shampoo and it was driving him insane. He was seriously considering sleeping on the cheese-and-wine stained couch.

--

"You're doing it again," she stated after awhile.

"Well, I'm not gonna lie here like a frickin' corpse just so you can get your beauty sleep," he sniped.

"God, what's your problem?" she huffed.

"Nothing."

"Yea, right."

"Just go to sleep."

"You can be so irritating sometimes, you know that?"

"Gee, thanks," he answered sarcastically. He felt her leg accidentally brush against his and he almost jumped out of bed. He groaned internally. What _was _his problem?

--

"Oh my God, will you stop that!?" Jackie exclaimed finally, sitting up and hitting Steven with her pillow, running a hand through her dark hair. She flipped on the lamp on the bedside table. And there it was. The blanket. "Steven, what is this doing here?" she asked, grabbing it and turning towards him.

"You were holding it when I carried you in from Betsey's room."

"Oh," Jackie said, looking at it, tracing the "B" with her thumb. She looked up tentatively. He was looking back at her.

And so she did it, she leaned forward and kissed Steven Hyde. She didn't know why and, well--it wasn't a real kiss. More like their hesitant lips meeting briefly, a tentative pause and then they retracted their lips, their faces still remaining centimeters away. _God, I missed you_, Jackie thought.

"I missed you."

Jackie looked surprised, no sooner had the thought entered her mind when Hyde vocalized it himself.

And then she _really _did it. She pushed him down on to the bed and shed her (his) flannel shirt, and rendered him shirtless once again.

X X X

It was fast, frenzied, but it felt like forever. Every touch, kiss, thrust met. Their eyes locked. _This was wrong_. Her hips bucked, pinned underneath Steven's strong body. _It doesn't feel wrong. In fact, Fez never made you feel this way. _And then the realization dawned on her. Fez. An involuntary moan escaped her lips.

It was right and wrong, and wrong and right, and it was bad and good, and then really good.

Her mind went blissfully blank, sounds escaping her mouth as Steven whispered her name in her ear. Her body was bathed in pleasure and her nails lightly dug into Steven's skin.

X X X

After awhile, she hopped out of bed. Feeling like shit. Feeling heavenly. He watched her as she tried to find her clothes, but not with the usual enjoyment that followed a naked Jackie prancing around his room. She chose the flannel jacket (_of course_), buttoning it so that it fell mid-thigh. Jackie leaned against the wall on the opposite end of the room. She smelt like sex. She wanted a shower.

"I've never been the cheater, always the cheatee," Jackie said in a small voice, looking down at her bare feet, her prickly legs and she suddenly felt repugnant.

"So that's what this was, cheating?"

"What did you think it was?" she asked, her voice sounding colder than she intended.

"I really did miss you."

She looked up. His eyes were so blue, and he looked at her like she was beautiful. Or hot. She didn't know which one. "I missed you too. But sometimes that's not enough."

"Why not?"

"Everything was always so simple with you, Steven--"

"And that's bad?" he interrupted.

"--And you can't just base your life on whims."

"This was a whim," Hyde stated.

"Just a whim," Jackie clarified.

"So, this is never going to happen again?"

"No. Steven, this was a mistake." He remained quiet.

"Were you ever ...you know, happy?" he asked, his voice hinting bitterness.

"Yes," she said softly.

"But then you left." His voice was factual, almost cold.

"I thought you were going to leave me and," she sighed. "I was wrong but you can't blame this all on me," she said, looking up. "You married a stripper."

"God, when are you gonna let that go? I thought you were cheating on me with Kelso," he said spitefully.

"I--" The phone rang loudly, interrupting the rising tension in the room.

--

"Yeah?" Hyde asked, annoyed.

"Geez, don't sound so happy to hear from me," Brooke said sarcastically.

"Sorry."

"Yeah, I'm sure," Broke said, rolling her eyes. "How's Betsey?"

"Good. She's still asleep. When are you guys coming back?"

"Umm, well, here's the thing--"

"That doesn't sound very good."

"There's a snowstorm and the roads are closed--"

"What?!"

"So, we might not be back until tomorrow--"

Hyde looked at the phone incredulously. Jackie looked at him concerned.

"At the earliest."

He let out an irritated sigh, "What?!" he repeated.

"What's happening?" Jackie asked, standing up and pulling down her flannel shirt.

He held up his hand and listened as Brooke chattered on. "Ok, I will. Yeah. Yeah, I said yeah I would. God, relax. I said I would! Ok, bye." He hung up the phone irritably.

"What? Why did Brooke call?" Jackie asked, raising her eyebrows anxiously.

"They're not coming back today," he said. Jackie let out a quiet indignant noise.

"When?" she asked, feeling a mild panic wash over her.

"Tomorrow." Jackie blew out another long sigh. _Okay, not bad._ "At the earliest."

**A/N: Ok, let me know what you think, read & review :) **


	5. Dazed and Confused

**Author's Note:** Another update :) I only received a few reviews for my last chapter, so does that means that nobody liked it? Hopefully not, but either way, I'll still finish this. But I'd love some new reviewers to give me their input on the story. C'mon, it takes like two seconds ;) Oh, and heads up on "adult language". xoxo Natalie

_Dazed and Confused_

--

She sat tentatively on the edge of the bed as Hyde let out a long sigh.

"So...what do we do now?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well," Hyde started, sitting up against the headboard, "I guess they won't be gone that long and it's not like we have much of a choice, right?"

"Yeah," Jackie agreed, nodding, trying to pull his flannel shirt over her knees to no avail. "You know, we could call Donna...or--or, Eric? To help us out," she suggested, not wanting it just to be the two of them alone again. Jackie hadn't even been with him for an entire twenty-four hours and yet she'd managed to have sex with not once, but--she cringed, hopefully not externally--twice. Well, she supposed, _technically_, if you counted--

"Help us out?" Hyde asked. _Us?_ He was cautiously hopefully but didn't let it show.

"With Betsey," she added quickly.

"Oh. Well, I'll call Forman and Donna then," Hyde agreed.

"Great," she answered unenthusiastically, still fiddling with that damn shirt.

"I'm gonna need that back, you know." Hyde nodded his heads towards her shirt.

"What, you want me to take it off know?" she asked irritably, standing up.

"I think that would be best, yeah," he answered smugly.

"You're a pig," she said, getting up and heading towards the adjacent bathroom and closed the door. She promptly removed his shirt and then re-opened the door, poking out only her head. "Here." Jackie extended her arm, offering the flannel.

"It's not like I haven't seen you naked before," Hyde reminded her, taking the shirt.

"Well, I can assure you, you won't be seeing me naked for a long, long time," Jackie sniped back, shutting the door.

She turned on the water in the shower but could hear a distinct, and alarmingly confident: "Not if I can help it."

--

"What?!" Jackie's mouth was agape, followed by a scoff. "I don't see her for like two days and she decides to revert back to being a red-head?" Jackie asked Eric, who was now seated on one of the kitchen chairs, while she absentmindedly ate her Cheerios.

"Yeah, I dunno, it's like one of those hair interventions or something," Eric said, shrugging.

"Why would she need an intervention?" Jackie asked, "Is something wrong between you two?"

"No!" he said. "Why does everyone keep asking me that? Donna and me--we're fine."

"Fine," Hyde repeated, "Hmm," he mused. "We all know what 'fine' is code for." _It means that Donna and Eric and Jackie and Fez were the opposite of it. Or at least he hoped so--about Jackie and Fez at least._

"Well, I liked her as a red-head," Jackie decided, ignoring Hyde's subtle joust at her relationship with Fez, and taking a bite of her Cheerios and leaving the spoon in her mind thoughtfully.

"I liked the blonde," Eric countered, smiling fondly.

"I think I did, too," Hyde agreed, resting his legs on the coffee table.

"Well, we all know how you have a things for blondes," Jackie shot back, dumping her soggy Cheerios and milk into the sink.

"Oh yeah, I heard you got married to some Las Vegas stripper!" Eric said. "Yeah, I caught some snippets of that conversation on that tape my mom sent me," he said, he mouthed the words "very entertaining" while Jackie rolled her eyes and began to scrub her plastic cereal bowl.

"We weren't actually married, not legally, or anything," Hyde said, shrugging off his friend's questions.

"Yeah, because that's so much better." Jackie scoffed.

"Wait...--what happened between you to?"

"Me and Sam?"

"No, you and Jackie."

Neither of them said anything. Betsey laughed and threw one of her stuffed animals at Hyde. It was a bear holding a heart. He kind of wanted to chuck it across the room (at Jackie) but he didn't. Hyde gave it an irritated squeeze.

"Oh my God!" It hit him: an epiphany.

"You guys had sex!" Eric announced, standing up, hands on his hips, his eyes shifting between the two of them.

"No."

"Yes."

Hyde's eyes met Jackie's, _Liar_.

"Oh My God!" he repeated.

_"_God, Forman, can you not tell the entire fricking building?" He took his feet off the coffee table.

"Sorry, it's just...uhh," he shuddered a little. "I definitely do not want to get in between you two...especially now that you're having sex all over the place," Eric said, gesturing with his hands.

"Well I'm sure Fez would enjoy that, though," Hyde quipped, standing up to take his place to the sink. _How could she forget what a pervert Fez was? I mean, really._

Jackie shot Hyde a glare. "It was nothing."

"Yeah, it seems like nothing," Eric answered back, sitting down again.

"Whatever you do, Eric, you cannot tell Fez," Jackie said, imploringly.

"Tell me what?" Fez asked, opening the apartment door to find a very awkward scene before him.

"Nothing," Jackie answered quickly. "Hi," she said, smiling. She gave Fez a quick peck on the lips. Seeing them together made Hyde kind of feel like chucking the stuffed bear at Fez's groin but he resisted once again. He went to go sit down by Betsey, who was stationed on a blanket, watching t.v.

Eric shot a glance at Hyde. "Awk-ward," he said in a singsong voice, seemingly enjoying himself.

"Man, shut up!" Hyde snapped, throwing the bear at Eric's face. Well at least that made him feel a little better.

--

"So what have you guys been doing?" Fez asked. Eric, Jackie, Hyde, and Fez sustained a relatively normal conversation until Eric decided he had to leave (much to Jackie's dismay and Hyde's mild-glee). Now that he was gone, however, it had sunk in to an awkward series of questions and answers.

Jackie cast a nervous, almost pleading glance, towards Hyde.

"Well, last night was...busy," Hyde answered. She could tell his eyes were smirking underneath his sunglasses, though he appeared to be acting normal. She cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"Oh." Fez looked at them curiously. "Well, I have to go to the bathroom," he announced, standing up. He seemed to be in a hurry to get out of there. _Probably just another Jackie and Hyde spat,_ he thought. They had been having a lot of those lately.

Jackie moved from her seat so she sat next to Hyde. "Cut--it--out!" she hissed, punctuating each word with a hit.

"What?" he asked, innocently.

She scoffed, "You are so full of it! Can't you just accept that last night was a mistake?"

"You know," Hyde countered. "If you were really as 'over us' as you pretend to be, this wouldn't be a problem. But the fact that you're still rambling on about what happened last night, indicates that you, clearly, are not."

"Steven..." she said wearily. "Just stop, okay? Maybe I'm not over you, but I need to be."

"I know I made a mistake, okay?" Hyde gently grabbed her hand. "Jacks, come on," he whispered softly, giving her a little nudge.

Jackie looked up and saw him: Steven. Not Hyde, or whoever he'd been for the last hell-ish year, but her Puddin' Pop. Her Steven.

They both leaned in, sharing a soft, sweet kiss. It was tender and unrushed, unlike last night. As his hand cupped her face, she couldn't help but wonder, _why now? What had happened that made him realize that he had been wrong?_

Coinciding with this thought was the barely-audible "Oh" coming from Fez's mouth.

Jackie tore herself away from Steven, guilty and flushed, and looked at her boyfriend, who was standing in the doorway. Well, probably ex-boyfriend now.

She felt her eyes begin to brim with tears. _This couldn't be happening._

"Fez...I--I--" Jackie stammered, not looking at Steven.

"So," he said sadly, playing with his hands, "I guess this is what made last night so busy, huh?"

Jackie glanced at Steven helplessly, who was staring at the floor. Ignoring her.

"I can't do this," Jackie said, shaking her head. She couldn't. She couldn't break-up with Fez right now, and she couldn't talk to Steven about last night. She could hardly even fucking breathe. Jackie hadn't even realized she'd been holding her breath, but let out a choked laugh. _This is ridiculous,_ she thought: she tried to move on with Fez, she ended up sleeping with Hyde, who then realized he wanted her back after some kind of oddly-timed revelation, but when Fez catches them, acts like nothing ever fucking happened.

She hardly realized she was walking out of the door, her hand turning the cool door knob, hearing Steven faintly calling her name, telling her to wait, until she had rushed down all the flights of stairs and was safely inside the confides of her car.

And then she started to cry.


	6. Conflicted

**Author's Note: **Okay, so I got some more reviews—which I was really happy about :) I'm glad you guys are responding well to the story. Anyway, here's another chapter. I was a little unsure of how to write Fez, so sorry if he's out of character. And this took longer to write because a) I was unsure whether or not to end it the way I did and b) I tried to save the edited version of this chapter and it didn't save and I had to re-write the last part :(

_Conflicted_

--

_You're pathetic!_ Jackie chided herself. She was, after all, the adorable, irresistible Jackie Beulah (_Ok, so the name Beulah wasn't _that_ cute_) Burkhart, but yet, Jackie found herself hiding in her car until she saw her boyfriend (or ex-boyfriend by now) leave Brooke's apartment building angrily. _This is all Steven's fault_, Jackie reasoned. She could have been perfectly semi-content with Fez, but Steven had to butt in and thwart her plans of moving on. And it was his fault in the first place!

"Stripper-lover," Jackie scoffed, closing her eyes and resting her head on her steering wheel. She turned on the radio in her car, debating whether she should stay and look after Betsey until Brooke and Michael came back or just drive back to Point Place. Neither option seemed very good, as Steven was with Betsey and Fez was in Point Place. Eric and Donna were in Madison too, but...

"_We got a song request comin' up--"Tiny Dancer" by Elton John going out to Stephanie from Jack,_" the radio host announced in his low, smooth voice.

Jackie laughed ironically and shut off the radio before Elton John's sang the first line. She let out a sigh and got out of the car.

--

Fez had left in a hurry. Hell, he wouldn't stick around very long if he saw Jackie cheating on him. _Which you never really did_, Hyde's subconscious reminded him. _Since "nothing happened" in Chicago. _

With the sincerity in her voice when she told him that, Hyde knew he was wrong to have jumped to conclusions. The worst part was Hyde was so painfully close from escaping his life with Sam, and establishing a new one with Jackie, it drove him crazy. He found that after awhile the beer dulled the pain. The pot didn't even do that well anymore, it just made him kind of hate Fez, and Kelso a little too.

"Hey Bets," Hyde said, plunking down next to the toddler on her blanket, who was now idly stacking her blocks. "Wanna know a secret?"

Betsey nodded, "Tell," she said, looking up at him with her big, brown eyes excitedly.

"I think I made a mistake with Aunt Jackie," Hyde admitted to the two-year old. He let out a bitter laugh, picking up a random block, a "J" inscribed on to the wooden block in a bright, hot pink. _Of course_.

"How come?" Betsey asked, looking puzzled.

"I shouldn't never had let her go. Or treated her like how I did." He tossed the block up, caught it in one hand. "I'm becoming just like Bud," he thought out loud bitterly.

"Who's that?" Betsey asked, standing up and grabbing Hyde's sunglasses off his face and trying them on. They hung crookedly from her adorable, round face, too big; her brown eyes were still visible behind them, her curly eyelashes pressed up against the colored lenses. Hyde let out a laugh and placed the block atop Betsey's neat stack.

"My dad...or--well," Hyde paused. "Not my real dad, just some guy who was never around."

"I love my daddy," Betsey said, twirling around, holding the sunglasses to her face.

"I know you do, kiddo," Hyde said, picking her up. "What about me, huh?" he asked her, tossing her easily in the air as she let out a peal of laughter.

"You too!" Betsey said, giving Hyde a kiss on the cheek.

"Well at least somebody does," Hyde said, half-joking, half-serious. "How about some lunch?"

--

"And then, I caught Jackie makin' out with Hyde!" Fez explained to Eric and Donna.

"Aw, man, and I missed it!" Eric complained.

"Wait--you knew about them?" Fez asked. "What the hell?!"

"Eric!" Donna intervened, hitting him on the shoulder. "What did Jackie say when you caught them?" she asked Fez.

"She said she couldn't handle this right now and then stormed out."

"What did Hyde do?"

"He just kind of apologized, said he didn't know why it happened. So I told him to get out," Fez said, angrily, making stern gestures with his hands. "But then, he told _me_ to get out because he was supposed to be baby sitting Betsey!" he continued. "So...then I left."

Donna nodded as she listened. "Wow" was all she said, looking at Eric. "So are you two like...over now?"

Fez shrugged, "I don't know. Man, I find out they slept together after one night, and we go out almost a whole month and _I_ didn't even get past _first_ base!" he complained.

--

Hyde was beginning to worry. It was already two o'clock and Jackie still hadn't come back since their fight in the morning, which had happened hours ago. Betsey was taking her nap in her room and Hyde was pacing Brooke's small kitchen. He walked back and forth and with each step, he hated himself more and more. _How could you do this? She's gonna hate you for breaking her up with Fez and now you two will never get back together! _

Hyde sighed and reached in to his pocket, hoping that, by some miracle, a joint would have magically found it's way in to his pocket. The only thing he pulled out was a lighter and a few coins. _This is useless, _Hyde thought. He wanted to go out and look for her, but he couldn't leave Betsey. The only thing he really could do was wait. And he hated that.

--

"Hello?"

"Hi, Donna," Jackie said, letting out a heavy sigh.

"Jackie?"

"Duh, who else do you think would be calling?" she asked, annoyed.

"Wow, someone's in a good mood. I wonder why," Donna said sarcastically.

"Ok, so that may have come out bitchier than I meant, but I have a problem."

"Yea, I know."

"How do _you _know?"

"Uh, well, Fez kinda came over our apartment and explained to us what happened."

"Oh God," Jackie sighed.

"So do you wanna tell me what happened? Or should I just take Fez's word on everything?"

"Donna, I feel like such tramp! I mean, I can't even be alone with Steven for one night without sleeping with him!" she said exasperatedly, earning amused looks from people walking by the payphone she was using.

"Why this, like, sudden change of heart? You've been alone with Hyde plenty of times since you two broke up."

"Not like this. Everything was so...overwhelming. I mean, he was acting so irritating and smug and then, well...he said he missed me. And I've missed him too, Donna. But I never meant for Fez to get hurt like this."

"Well, I really think you need to talk to him. To both of them," Donna clarified. "In fact, why don't you talk to Fez now?" she asked.

"What? Donna!" Jackie said in disbelief. "Thanks for telling me now that Fez is at your apartment!" she whispered loudly, although she had no idea why she was whispering.

"Sorry! I wanted to get to the bottom of this and it's not like Fez heard of any of what you just said. Him and Eric are in the next room, but I think you should talk to him. Like, now."

"I don't even know what to say to him," Jackie said. She felt like crying. "Donna..."

"Just hold on, I'm gonna go in the other room and get him okay?" Donna put the phone on the dresser and headed in to adjacent room, where Fez and Eric sat watching t.v. "Fez, Jackie's on the phone. She wants to talk to you."

--

Hyde picked up the phone, dialing Donna and Eric's apartment number and waited for it to ring. The line was busy.

"Dammit!" he said, hanging up the phone angrily. He began to pace again.

_Try again, call her. You need to talk to her,_ Hyde thought naggingly. He picked up the phone, kind of hating himself, and dialed the first four numbers before hanging up the phone. He hung up the phone again and sat on the floor in front of the television, grabbing the remote and aimlessly flicking through the channels.

"_Welcome to the Price is Right!" _

Hyde changed the channel quickly, settling on the news.

"_Meanwhile, in Milwaukee, the snow continues to fall, blocking roads coming in and out of town. This massive snowstorm came seemingly overnight. There hasn't been a January 28th this cold since..."_

Hyde shut off the t.v. He walked over to the window, peering down at the soft, snow-covered streets below. "Where are you?" he asked, drumming his fingers impatiently on the window pane.

The door clicked open softly. _Jackie._ His heart began to beat faster: he had to make things right with her.

"We should talk."

--

Jackie walked up the stairs to Brooke's apartment, her heels clanking loudly as she ascended. She waited outside of the door, feeling almost afraid to go inside. She blew out a long breath, braving herself for seeing Steven. _You can do this,_ she coached herself. _Just open the door. Open the door._

The door opened softly, but made a small, barely audible click. Enough noise to catch Steven's attention, who turned to her with nervous eyes, looking relieved to see her.

"We should talk."

Jackie faltered at his forthcoming. Her back pressed against the door and she heard it click shut.

"Steven..." she lowered her eyes. _You have to do this,_ she reminded herself. Jackie bit her quivering lip, _You have to do this._

"Steven, Fez and I got back together."

--

**Author's Note:** Ooh, a cliffhanger! Let me know what you think ;) Review, review, review. xoxo


	7. Face to Face

Author's Note: Yes, it's been two weeks (and three days)

**Author's Note:** Yes, it's been two weeks (and three days). No excuses, just another chapter. Read & Review!

It's kind of long, which is good, right? Oh, and this chapter isn't exactly sunshine and joy, etc. but it gets rather angsty. Never fear, JH will _always _happen...it just might take awhile ;) And there's some language in this one, too.

xo Nat

_Face to Face_

_--_

"What?" Hyde asked in disbelief, his voice sharp from across the unusually quiet room. _Fez. And Jackie._

_Jackie and Fez...His Jackie with--with Fez! Foreign Fez, Needy Fez..._The thought sickened him.

"You heard me," Jackie sighed sadly. "Now," she continued. "You need to stop."

"Stop what?"

"Stop this--this...just all of this crap!" Jackie yelled, sighing. "We made a mistake last night and it's over, Steven."

"We should talk," Hyde suggested. This couldn't _really_ be the end. He always figured she'd take him back, but this? _This isn't happening,_ Hyde told himself. "We need to talk."

"Dammit, Steven," she said softly, closing her eyes.

"Jackie..." he took a step towards her.

"Just leave me alone," Jackie said imploringly, looking up at him intently with her blue and green eyes. "Please."

"Jacks," he said quietly. "Just listen to me--"

"No, Steven," Jackie interrupted. Jackie let out a long sigh and ran a hand through her hair, walking towards her ex-boyfriend. "Steven, listen okay? You can't just decide when you want to get back together. You _chose_ Sam over me. And now, I'm choosing and it's not you. You just have to deal with it," Jackie told him, hands on her hips.

--

"Well...who did you choose last night?" Hyde asked this almost patiently, without any bite or sting his comments usually produced: he just stated the fact. "It wasn't Fez."

"That was a mistake--and, I'm sorry...but it's done." Jackie grabbed his hand and gave it a small squeeze. "That can't happen again, okay?" Jackie asked slowly, biting her lip. _Just tell him what he needs to hear_, Jackie coached herself. She let go of his hand and walked away, leaving a disbelieving Hyde in her wake.

--

Jackie headed in to Brooke's bathroom and locked the door. The bathroom was Jackie's favorite room in Brooke's apartment because it had a real bathtub--one of those big white bathtubs with claw feet that rested on the opposite side of the room. Jackie opened the cupboard and took out the pink bottle of "Mr. Bubbles" and poured it in to the hot water that was filling rapidly in to the deep tub.

Jackie settled in to the hot water and bubbles, sucking in a breath as she dipped under the water. Jackie held her breath and began to count, seeing how long she could last under water.

--

Hyde felt like shit. Which wasn't exactly a new feeling for him. It was about the same way he felt when he found out he was married. _Married. _

"Well this sucks," Hyde said to himself, sitting down on the table nearest where he was standing. He put his head in his hands. Hyde couldn't let her get away again. And the thought that really scared him was that she would end up leaving...again.

_Do something, man. _Hyde got up suddenly and bolted towards the bathroom.

--

_January 4, 1980 - Eric and Donna's Apartment_

"This again?" Donna asked, sighing.

"They offered me a job in Chicago and I think I might take it. I mean, it would be good to get out of Point Place. You and Eric are in Madison, Kelso's with Brooke and--Steven!" Jackie said, quickly changing subject as her ex-boyfriend opened the door: "Hi."

"Hi," he said, in return, shutting the door behind him. "Did I...interrupt something?" he asked, feigning interest. He was standing outside the door listening to their conversation, his ears automatically perked when she said the word "Chicago", and figured he'd make his entrance before he had to listen about her and Fez. _Disgusting._

"Uh, no, nothing," Jackie lied.

Hyde raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. Okay."

--

"Jackie." Hyde knocked on the door. "Jackie, open the door." He knocked again.

Inside the bathroom, Jackie was still submerged under the water, enjoying the quietness it provided. She was up to forty-seven seconds when she came up for breath again. She heard Steven knocking on the door and brought her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them.

"Go away, Steven."

"Open the door!"

"No--go away!"

"Fine."

_Fine?_ Jackie sighed. "Fine," she muttered back, closing her eyes and extending her legs so she could rest her head on the edge of the tub.

--

Finally, the lock clicked open.

Jackie opened her eyes and immediately and, startled, recoiled back to her fetal-like position. "Steven! Get out!" Jackie yelled, frantically making sure the bubbles hadn't completely dissipated.

"You said you wouldn't open the door, so I did," he said. "I know you always have these stupid pins lying everywhere." Hyde held up a bobby pin.

"You picked the lock?! And you went in my purse!" Jackie said. "God, Steven, you need to learn to keep your hands off of things that aren't _yours_!" she spat. Jackie grabbed her purple towel nearby and quickly covered herself, before continuing: "_I'm_ not yours, _this house_ is not yours, and stay away from my purse!" She stepped out of the tub. "You can't always have everything you want, whenever you want it. You can't just run away and disappear without listening to what_ I_ have to say and then just expect me to start listening to _you_ whenever _you _feel like it! God, what happened to you?" Jackie vociferated. She pushed past him.

"Jackie, wait!" Hyde said, grabbing her arm.

"What _is_ wrong with you, Steven?" She jerked her arm away. "You were always--_always--_jealous of Michael and, and now it's with Fez! You only always felt so inferior to them, and always felt the need to show that I was _yours. _But when you actually had me, Steven, you just let me go. Do you just leave someone you care about before they can leave you?" Jackie asked rhetorically. "Yeah, well I didn't make you leave, I didn't make you marry Sam: _I _wanted to marry you! _I _wanted to explain what happened in Chicago. Did you ever really want me or you just didn't want anyone else to have me because--oh, God forbid!, I actually find someone _better_ than you," she said, so angrily she was almost shaking.

Hyde looked stunned, too stunned for words. He didn't respond but reacted by staring in to her, blue eyes flashing angrily: she could see him calculating the perfect, vengeful remark. Jackie prepared herself for whatever horrible insult he would throw at her.

"Yeah, you got me all figured out then, huh?" he asked, icily, almost calmly. "Well, congratulations, Jackie. Maybe I am all those things, but at least _I _know it. You act so perfect, well get off your high horse--you're just as fucked up as me. You're dad's in jail, Jackie!" he taunted. "And your mom, who knows where she is, maybe looking for your next dad on a beach somewhere?"

"_I'm_ worse than you?" Jackie asked, spewing an almost uncontrollable rage, the suppressed feelings of last year coming so easy and volatile from her mouth. "What about you, Mr.-Run-and-Hide-From-My-Feelings? What happened to 'We should talk', huh? You can't even be honest with your_self_, so don't feed me that crap that I'm on some kind of high horse. You automatically go on the defense whenever you think you'll get hurt. It takes so much for you to _share_ something of yourself--"

"Yeah, well you obviously have had no problem 'sharing' several parts of _yourself_ all over town," Hyde interrupted.

"You know what? I never know what I saw in you, you're such--"

Hyde couldn't take it anymore. He grabbed her and brought their mouths together in a bruising kiss. Jackie, although she knew better, found herself kissing back fervently, her tongue mingling with his. He pushed her against the wall, grabbing her hair in an attempt to bring her mouth closer to his. Suddenly, he felt himself face to face with the bathroom wall, Jackie quickly evading his grasp and moving out from beneath him.

"Jackie--what the hell?" he asked, annoyed at her sudden absence, which she responded with a small laugh.

"Do you ever listen to anything I say?" Jackie asked, almost amiably, shaking her head.

"Do you ever stop talking?"

"Oh, ha-ha," Jackie said sarcastically. "I'm going to change and then we _really_ need to talk." She turned and paused at the door, leaning against its frame. She blew out a long breath: "I'm sorry I said all those things. I don't really think of you like that," she offered, half-heartedly.

"Yeah, you do," Hyde said, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "I mean, you should. I was kind of terrible to you and..."

"And...?" Jackie probed teasingly as they walked towards down the hall.

"And...I'm sorry, I guess. I really am more fucked up than you," he admitted. Jackie opened the door to Brooke's room and crossed the threshold, facing him.

"It's okay," Jackie nodded: "Well, it's not okay, you were awful--but..we'll talk, okay?" She grabbed his hand and gave it a little squeeze.

"Okay..." he said slowly. "What if I don't want to talk?" he asked, leaning towards her, aiming to kiss her again.

"Well..." Jackie said, leaning towards Steven, looking up at him mischievously. "Too bad," she whispered, shutting the door between them.

**Author's Note:** So, what do you all think? Let me know! xoxo


	8. Deja Vu

Author's Note: So, I'm back after a horrible stint with writer's block

**Author's Note:** So, I'm back after a horrible stint with writer's block. Hopefully, it's gone for good and I feel like I'm getting some of my creativity back (hallelujah). I'd like to recommended watching Episode 501, "Going to California" as well as the last episode of Season 7. They're both on Youtube! So watch it and review the chapter (that took nearly a month to write).

xoxo Natalie, who-is-sorry-this-took-for-EVER-to-write!

_Deja Vu_

_--_

Hyde smirked to himself, taking off his sunglasses as he walked in to Betsey's room, drawing out a long breath.

"Hey, Bets," Hyde said, plopping down on to her purple chair. "You doing okay?"

The toddler nodded and smiled up at him from her position on the rug, crayons in hand, "Mommy back?" she asked hopefully.

Hyde shook his head, "Sorry, Betsey. They should be back soon, though," Hyde said, "Need some help?"

Betsey smiled and stood up, walking to where Hyde sat. "Mommy does hair," Betsey said, pulling on a strand of her wavy brown hair.

Hyde laughed, "I don't think so, Bets. You should ask your Aunt Jackie about that one."

"But pleaaase?" Betsey asked, pouting. "Uncle Hyde?" She looked up at him with her big, brown eyes and then looked down sadly. "Mommy always does," Betsey insisted, casting another sad look towards him.

Hyde sighed, "Fine. You girls, always crying about something," he muttered.

--

Jackie opened her overnight bag and looked for something to wear, casually discarding each item. Frustrated, she plopped on the mattress and sighed.

_Why are you making such a big deal out of this? It's just Steven! And just a talk. A 'talk'. _Jackie reprimanded herself. But...still it _was_ Steven and somehow things never turned out as expected with him. Like last night. And Chicago. And..._I could go on all day,_ Jackie reflected bitterly. Resolved, she stood up and grabbed her sweats and a plain long-sleeved shirt.

"You are such a tramp!" Jackie muttered to herself, staring at her reflection. She pulled down her the sleeves of her shirt so they rested at her fingertips. She messed up her hair and opted not to wear any lipgloss."You're going to talk," Jackie reminded herself. "Nothing else. Just talk."

--

Hyde found Betsey's hairbrush, with her brightly colored elastics wrapped around the handle. "So...uh, let's see," Hyde pulled Betsey on to his lap and began to brush the knots out of her hair.

"Ouch!" Betsey said as Hyde pulled on one of tangled strands of hair.

"Sorry, Bets," Hyde said, giving her a small kiss on her head. "So...uh, what color do you want?" he asked, holding out a few elastics for her to choose.

"Blue," she prompted. "And purple."

_Jackie's favorite color,_ Hyde thought instantly, momentarily distracted.

"Uncle Hyde?" Betsey asked in a sing-song voice. Looking up, puzzled, at her godfather who had secured a tangled strand of her hair in to an uncomfortable rubber band.

Hyde heard a laugh at the door. "Steven," Jackie asked exasperatedly. "What are you doing to my beautiful goddaughter?" Jackie teased.

"Our," he corrected. She shot him a, _Don't-Go-There-look_. "Come here, Betsey, I'll fix you up," Jackie said enthusiastically, grabbing her off from Hyde's lap and taking seat in the chair on the opposite side of the room.

--

Hyde watched Jackie brush Betsey's hair, taking care to smooth out every knot and tangled strand. Jackie began to hum softly, carefully separating her brown locks and braiding them easily.

"The Beatles?" Hyde asked, smiling at her, listening intently to the tune she was singing.

"Oh, yea. My mom used to sing it to me when she did this," Jackie said distractedly. "But...well, you've heard me sing," Jackie laughed, casting a stray look his way. Their eyes met briefly and Jackie quickly set to the task of securing Betsey's two braids. "Well, there you go, Betsey. What do you think?" Jackie asked, depositing the toddler on her feet and picking up a handheld mirror. "Good?"

Betsey nodded happily, "Thanks, Aunt Jackie! T.V. time?" Betsey asked.

"Sure, only for a little bit, though," Hyde consented before Jackie could make some excuse for Betsey to stay.

--

"So...talk," Jackie said, nodding at Hyde, staring at him from across the room.

"You changed," Hyde said cryptically. She raised an eyebrow. "Your clothes," he answered vaguely. "You never wear sweat pants." He stood up and Jackie crossed her arms over her chest unconsciously. "And a long-sleeve shirt," he continued, mulling over this information. Hyde smiled as his epiphany occurred. "You think it could happen again, don't you? Us, you know, having sex?" Hyde probed. "That's why you're dressed like that. See, if you really wanted to make me suffer, you'd go around, prancing around here in something tiny and...and--" He cleared his throat, his eyes scanning down her thin frame. "Uhm...never mind."

"Don't be so full of yourself. It's January, I don't want to be freezing my ass off in here," Jackie retorted. "I did _not_ think we'd be having sex again. So, rest assured," she sniped back, giving Hyde a pat on the shoulder.

Hyde grabbed Jackie around the waist. "Come on, Jacks. You said we'd talk."

"About what? How much I'm secretly dying to have sex with you?" She pulled away from his uncomfortably close grasp.

He sighed, "Just talk, that's all I want. Unless..." he continued. "You wanna do that first, because that would work, too," Hyde said smirking, speaking quickly and trying to evade Jackie's hand.

Jackie slapped him in the arm. "I'll be in the kitchen," Jackie huffed.

--

"What do you think, _Jackie_?" Hyde asked, holding up the tiny Play-Doh 'animal' that Betsey had created.

"Aw, Bets," Jackie said, ignoring Hyde's question, "It's very nice."

"Thanks," Betsey answered happily, "Here." She handed her godmother the Play-Doh creation.

Hyde sighed, "Still ignoring me, huh?" He was almost amused at Jackie's determination to not speak to him—a retaliation against the gutter-minded comments he had spoken earlier. She was always cute when she was mad, at least, most of the time.

"Betsey, c'mere," Jackie said, grabbing the toddler's hand. "Tell your Uncle Hyde that I'm still mad," Jackie whispered in to her goddaughter's ear, smiling saccharinely at Hyde. Betsey walked up to Hyde, tugging gently on his shirt.

"Auntie's mad," Betsey whispered loudly.

Hyde nodded, looking over at his ex-girlfriend. She was going to drive him crazy.

--

"You know you're not making this any easier for yourself," Jackie said vaguely, scooping out a spoonful of ice cream that they were eating from the carton. "If you're so set on us getting back together, this isn't really the way to go," Jackie clarified.

After an afternoon of distracting themselves with Betsey, the two were finally getting their chance to talk.

"And how would I make this easier?" Hyde asked, raising an eyebrow, his eyes sunglass-free.

"Well, not being such an asshole, for one," Jackie started.

Hyde smiled sarcastically at her, taking a bite of ice cream, "Well, I'd think you'd be used to that by now, doll."

Jackie rolled her eyes and hopped off the stool in Brooke's kitchen. "That's exactly what I mean. You say you want to talk, but when we do, you always try to evade it somehow--you make some little remark..."

Hyde sighed and Jackie could tell she needed to make her point before he decided to stop listening or get angry. (Again.)

"Now, Steven, listen. I know you think we should get back together. But, think about it...before this weekend, we hardly spoke to each other. I mean, we can't just go from hardly being friends to...to whatever we are now."

"Isn't that what happened before? If you think back to a certain summer," Hyde said, putting the ice cream container back in to the icebox. He opened the refrigerator door, looking (and praying) that Kelso had left some beer in the fridge. Negative. Hyde grimaced and stood back up, facing Jackie. He leaned against the open refrigerator door.

"That was different," Jackie excused. "Will you shut that thing? It's already freezing," Jackie complained, putting her hand on the refrigerator door, looking up at him.

"This feeling...familiar at all?" he asked, smirking at her.

"Steven, what are you talking about?" Jackie asked irritably. Then she realized.

They were standing in a strangely familiar position, one they had adopted during the first summer they were together. It was the same position that Mrs. Foreman had caught them in, making out during the hottest month of summer, in front of the refrigerator.

He didn't say anything, but raised his eyebrows.

"Don't..." Jackie warned, noticing Hyde stepping closer to her. "Steven," Jackie sighed softly in to his lips. "I'm just trying to close the door," she whispered before his lips gently brushed hers.

The kiss was almost the same. It was a little unsure, a little wrong, but this time for different reasons. Back then, she was with Michael. Now, she was with Fez. They shouldn't be doing this, but they were--after all these years, they were back in the same place.

"Aunt Jacks? Uncle Hyde?" Betsey asked, looking strangely at her godparents, who were, until recently, heavily making out. Jackie quickly shut the refrigerator door, shooting an embarrassed and angry look at Hyde.

"Bets, why are you up? We put you to bed an hour ago," Hyde asked, picking up his tiny goddaughter. "You need something?"

"Water," Betsey said, nodding. Jackie made her a cup of water and handed it to her.

"You sure you're okay?" Jackie asked, brushing some stray brown hair out of her goddaughter's eyes. Betsey nodded.

"Thanks," Betsey smiled sleepily. "Bed now."

"I'll put her back to sleep," Hyde said, looking over at Jackie. With a small shrug at her, he walked back to Betsey's room.

--

Jackie peeked in to Betsey's room. Her goddaughter was now, thankfully, asleep. Hyde was showering and Jackie felt exhausted. The phone rang from Brooke's room and she hurried inside to answer it.

Jackie knew she had a decision to make about Steven; they couldn't keep crossing the line between friends and enemies and lovers anymore, the line was continually growing blurier. It had to end somehow and, as Jackie hung up the phone, she knew what her resolution would be.

--

Jackie sat on Brooke's bed, resting her head on the wall, closing her eyes, mulling over the conclusion she had just come to.

"Hey," Steven said, knocking softly on the door.

She opened her eyes and smiled. "Hey," she returned. "You coming in?"

Steven entered the room, sitting on the edge of the bed. "So...I guess now would be a good time to finally talk, huh?"

"Actually...I was thinking maybe we should go to sleep. We can talk about this later," Jackie shrugged.

Hyde regarded her curiously. "Who's the one avoiding the subject now?" Hyde asked rhetorically, a slightly teasing tone escaping his words.

"Just get in," Jackie instructed, slipping under the covers. "Unless you want to sleep on the couch...?" Jackie suggested.

"No, this is good," Hyde said. "I guess you can't be too mad at me--"

"Steven," Jackie said tiredly. "It's been a long day and I think we've talked enough for now."

"Right," Hyde agreed, slipping in next to her. They were both silent for awhile, both awake: "So...does this mean you want to have to sex now?" Hyde joked.

"You pig!" Jackie said, slapping him again on the arm.

"Oh, come on, Jacks. It was only last night that we had sex, so don't act like that's so unreasonable."

"I know, I just think we shouldn't be back-tracking. We're supposed to making progress, remember?" Jackie reminded him.

He rolled back on to his back and stared up at the ceiling.

"Well, lately, backwards seems to be working for us. Especially considering what happened when we 'progressed'."

_Ultimatums, Chicago, proposals, towel-clad ex-boyfriends, stripper ex-wives. _

Progress. They _had_ made progress, right? And they weren't completely back to where they had left off. Or at least, Hyde hoped so.

--

_A Year Ago - January 29, 1979_

_Foreman's Living Room_

_"So you haven't decided yet?" Eric asked, looking at his friend on the couch._

_"Oh, no I've decided," Hyde answered back with certainty. _

_"Steven, Jackie stopped by and asked me to give you this note," Mrs. Foreman said, handing him a letter. _

--

Hyde woke up to noise. And that noise sounded a lot like Kelso. Irritably, he got out of bed, nearly tripping over a suitcase, and wandered in to the kitchen, where he could smell breakfast.

"Hey, man," Kelso said, smiling at his friend from the counter. "You want some breakfast?"

"Man, what are you doing here?" Hyde asked, still groggy from waking up.

"Jackie didn't tell you?" Brooke asked, who was standing at the stove. "I called her last night to tell her we were coming back. We ran in to one of Michael's police academy buddies who lived in the area and he showed us how to get out of town using the back roads, so we didn't have to deal with all the fuss and traffic while they cleared the main roads..."

"Wait, you called Jackie?" Hyde asked, looking around to realize she wasn't in the kitchen.

"Yeah, last night. She said she'd tell you," Kelso shrugged, stabbing some eggs with his fork.

"Michael, those are for Betsey. You're allergic to eggs," Brooke reminded Kelso patiently.

"Oh yea," Michael laughed. "Hey, Hyde, remember that time..."

"Not now, Kelso," Hyde snapped. "Where's Jackie?"

"Steven?" Brooke asked. "You didn't know? She left this morning. She told me to give this to you." Brooke wiped her hands on her apron, grabbing an envelope off the countertop. "She said she had to go and to make sure you got this..." Brooke trailed off as Hyde grabbed the envelope out of her hands. "What does it say?"

_Steven--_

_I'm sorry. I just can't do this. I know I said we'd talk, but we both know this can't work. Not now at least. _

_I know you want to get back together and I think we did make mistakes, but if we haven't changed, then nothing ever will. We're back to the beginning again, Steven--and I loved you back then and I still do, but we can't keep repeating our mistakes. _

_I was offered a job in Chicago and I'm going to take it. I'm not trying to an extort a marriage proposal or anything out of you, I just want you to know that I'm so sorry for leaving this way. I just knew if I stayed, then I don't think I'd have been able to leave. We can't keep doing this anymore, Steven. _

_Love, Jackie_

He stared at it blankly, his mind flashing back to the letter she had let a year ago. The same small heart over the "I" in her name, the girly flourish in her handwriting.

"It says she took the job in Chicago and she left this morning."

**Author's Note:** Ok, that may be a little evil cliffhanger, but I'll get another chapter up soon! I'm just having some fun with you guys since I've been dreadfully blocked. I figured out how it's going to end...but you'll just have to wait and see ;) REVIEW! xoxo


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